Many neighbors are organizing to fight a proposed luxury development near 51st and Spruce.

Developer Callahan Ward is planning to build a three-story, 30-unit mixed-use building at 303 S. 51st Street on the site of a former auto repair shop, which is surrounded by the backyards of residential homes. A zoning permit for the building, which also includes three commercial tenant spaces and 21 bicycle parking spaces, was issued on April 26, according to the Licenses and Inspections website. The 16,655 square-foot-lot was purchased in 2018, according to Realtor.com. The lot is zoned CMX2, which allows construction of 33 units by right, and no public hearings were required for the developer to proceed with their plans.  Continue Reading

Police are still searching for the person who shot a 25-year-old man  near the corner of 51st and Irving (see map below) Monday night. Police were called to the scene at about 9 p.m. to find Leon McMillan, 27, shot twice in the chest. He later died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. McMillan lived a block away onn the 5100 block of Locust

The fatal shooting is the second in two days in West Philadelphia. Eighteen-year-old Jarell Seay was shot on the front porch of his home on the 1300 block of N. 55th Street on Sunday. No arrests have been made in the shooting. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a story yesterday about Seay’s parents’ struggle with their son’s death.

View Larger Map

UPDATE (4/13/2023): Here’s a short update on the new Apple TV show, Catamount, filming in Philadelphia, including some West Philly neighborhoods. The show was filmed in Clark Park this past Tuesday, according to Amy Johnson, the unit publicist for the show. The next episode starts filming on Monday, April 17, and filming is not expected to take place in West Philly at this time. Overall, filming of Catamount is expected to continue through May 4, 2023.

(4/3/2023): Filming of a new Apple TV show, Catamount, continues in West Philly, and has expanded to new locations. This Tuesday, the filming crew will be working on Pine Street, from 48th to 51st. “No Parking” signs were posted over the weekend along the street, and cars were being towed today from these blocks in preparation for filming, which is expected to take place up until 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4.

Filming predominantly took place in the area of 44th/45th and Spruce since February, but is expected to expand as far west as 57th and Market. We’ll post more details when they are available.

Apple Studios has been filming scenes for the upcoming season of their television show, Catamount (a limited-run crime drama) in the Spruce Hill neighborhood since February. Filming is mostly taking place in the area of 44th/45th and Spruce and on 46th Street between Pine and Spruce, but more areas may be affected as well.

As the scenes involve the production crew working with equipment on the street, there are intermittent road closures and parking restrictions in the areas of filming. Residents are asked to move their vehicles prior to the crew’s arrival. Any vehicles not moved will be relocated to another street in the neighborhood by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Here are the dates and times of the no parking zones for the neighborhood from Sunday, March 19 through Friday, March 24. Continue Reading

Residents near a controversial proposed 30-unit apartment complex tucked down an alley of 51st Street near Spruce Street presented details on their opposition last night during an online meeting with developers, who committed to rethink the project.

A year in the making, the meeting between representatives of Callahan Ward and residents near 303 S. 51st Street, which housed an auto mechanics shop in the past, did not result in any specific concessions. But developers said they would modify the proposal to build 30 market rate apartments to include an unspecified amount or type of affordable housing and community space in addition to ground floor commercial.  Continue Reading

The Pennsylvania chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women is hosting a live online forum on Thursday, May 28 for candidates running in next Tuesday’s primary for the state House of Representatives 188th Legislative District seat.

The forum will run live on the coalition’s Facebook page beginning at 6:30 p.m. and Cherri Gregg of KYW News Radio will be the host.

Candidates for the seat include longtime incumbent James Roebuck, his long-time aide Karen Dunn, 51st Ward Leader and activist Greg Benjamin and community organizer Rick Krajewski.

Originally scheduled for April 28, the Pennsylvania primary was moved to June 2 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.